Office 365

  • 1.  SharePoint site setup and design ideas?

    Posted 11-02-2023 05:25

    Hello.

    I'm creating new SharePoint sites for my organization. Is there anyone out there with experience in this? I'm looking for input and insight on any functional and/or design elements to include. Basically a second opinion for what I'm doing. All assistance is welcomed.

    Thank you.



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    Amulet Chambers
    Records Specialist
    UC Santa Cruz, UNEX Smarter Balanced
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  • 2.  RE: SharePoint site setup and design ideas?

    Posted 11-03-2023 03:10

    Hi

     

    We have done this quite a few times, and you are correct to be thinking about the Information architecture before you start. Let me know what type of organisational structure you have – are you a sales organisation, Government department, need to comply with a file plan or business classification scheme etc. as you should align as much as possible to that so as not to confuse the users. Another consideration is whether or not you are using M365, with Teams and OneDrive. Teams creates an added level of complexity because it creates Groups and sites in the background.

     

    Lastly, How much collaboration do you need – i.e. Cross-functional business processes, where multiple departments need to access the same information, with different permission.

     

    One thing you really want to emphasise in your design, is doing it such that you avoid duplication as much as possible, or Sharepoint sprawl – with lots of sites and sub-sites being created.

     

    In summary, two thing to focus on now:

    M365 Governance – who can create sites, subsites, libraries and Teams sites

    Information architecture – the use of sites, sub-sites, libraries, content types, Document sets, and managed Metadata (Term stores).

     

    Get those right and you have a strong chance of success.

     

    Regards

     

    Paul

     


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  • 3.  RE: SharePoint site setup and design ideas?

    Posted 11-06-2023 09:10

    Hi Amulet - 

    I generally counsel people to work on display last.  We focus on what we're trying to do for the organization with a site.

    There are numerous whitepapers on our site that may be helpful.  You may be particularly interested in Intranet Roadmap.

    I'm happy to answer more specific questions if you have them.

    -Rob



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    Robert Bogue
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  • 4.  RE: SharePoint site setup and design ideas?

    Posted 11-12-2023 21:43

    Hi Amulet,

    When working with Microsoft, or indeed any platform, it is important to have a clear IM strategy and plan your approach. Microsoft often gets a negative talk when it comes to IM - in some cases this is justified, but often it is really because there was no IM strategy. SharePoint sites can sprawl out of control, if you no plan; users can save content in multiple places, if you have no plan, etc.

    With M365, SharePoint sites are assumed to exist in a flat list. However, you can impose some IM logic, just as if you are applying a business classification etc. to any content. For example, you can pre-define your classification structure and require that all new sites be mapped into this structure. You can also use site templates to ensure commonality in design - for example Finance sites are structured in a particular way, HR in another way, etc. This way you can ensure that the right retention labels, metadata, access groups, etc. are applied on set-up. Sites can also be grouped using Hub sites, so that you can group sites by business function, by organisational department, etc.

    Hope this helps.

    Chris



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    Christopher Foley
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  • 5.  RE: SharePoint site setup and design ideas?

    Posted 11-30-2023 09:46

    Hi Amulet,

    Others have provided some great advice; our team specializes in this area and happy to help. In case you didn't see it yet, Microsoft announced some changes since your posting which might be relevant to your project.

    Introducing SharePoint Premium – the future of AI powered content management and experiences - Microsoft Community Hub



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    Doug Yates
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